be quiet! destroys their tempered glass side panels so you don't have to

Why do PC cases use tempered glass?

be quiet! destroys their tempered glass side panels so you don't have to

Tempered glass has become one of the most popular additions to PC case designs in recent years, replacing the plastic windows that adorned older offerings.

Over time many consumers have questioned this change, wondering why brittle glass is being used to replace the acrylic, a material that is both easier to shape and cheaper to produce. Yes, real glass can offer some extra rigidity and deliver a clearer view at your PC components, but is glass a safe material for home users?

In the video below, be quiet talks about tempered glass in-depth, discussing the material's properties, how the panels are manufactured and how resistant the material is to breaking.

For those who are more interested in the smashing process, the video also showcases tempered glass case windows being shattered via drops on hard flooring or using thrown projectiles, alongside some failed attempts.

Tempered glass is also known as toughened glass, signifying the material's ability to resist greater forces than normal glass without deformation. In simpler terms, tempered glass is more scratch resistant than normal glass, though the tempering process comes with other upsides and downsides.

If you watch the video below you will see that tempered glass will shatter into granular chunks, not a collection of sharp shards, making tempered glass safer to clean up by posing less of a cutting risk. This could also be seen as a downside, as shattering tempered glass can also create glass dust, which is dangerous to inhale.

Over the past two years tempered glass has exploded in popularity in the PC building market, offering extra clarity over plastic case windows as well as the mirror-like appearance of glass while offering enough scratch resistance to maintain that appearance over long periods.

While we have heard some horror stories regarding shattered case side panels, we see no reason why the material won't continue to prove popular in the coming years, especially in an era where custom case lighting is more popular than ever before.

Most Recent Comments

The only problem with tempered glass when it breaks is that you will be finding pieces of it (in your feet usually) for years if it breaks in your house. What it really needs is lamination, but you can't do that and then heat it.

It's one of the dumbest trends in PC cases of late. Remember the old days when side panels had fans that would do a pretty good job at cooling down your GPU? I remember my NZXT Tempest - "The Airflow King" (they need to release a modern version!). The 120mm side panel fan took 7-10 degrees off the GPU. But now I struggle to find a decent airflow oriented case because trends like tempered glass panels, closed off front panels and PSU shrouds have taken over.Quote

Yeah I don;t understand the reasoning behind closed off fronts, One of the things that bugged me about the Corsair 570X, While there are half inch gaps around the front the airflow could be better, It's why I got a custom front acrylic panel made, Same thickness but with 4 vertical slits going from top to bottom to replace the glass.Quote

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